Iranian Turkmens
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Iranian Turkmens (; ) are a branch of
Turkmen people Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...
living mainly in northern and northeastern regions of
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
. Their region is called Turkmen Sahra and includes substantial parts of Golestan Province of Iran. The number of Turkmens in Iran is estimated at 0.5 to 2.4 million people.


Ethnography

Iranian Turkmens have represented a group of semi-nomadic tribes who retained a more traditional way for a long time. The following Turkmen tribes live in Iran: Yomut, Goklen, and Teke.


Ethnic history

Representatives of such modern Turkmen tribes as Yomut, Goklen, Īgdīr, Saryk, Salar and Teke have lived in Iran since the 16th century, though ethnic history of Turkmens in Iran starts with the Seljuk conquest of the region in the 11th century. Throughout the 17th century and the beginning of the 18th century, a process of resettlement of the Turkmen tribes took place in Iran. In the 17th century, it was associated with the intensified exploitation of Turkmens by the
Khanate of Khiva The Khanate of Khiva (, , uz-Latn-Cyrl, Xiva xonligi, Хива хонлиги, , ) was a Central Asian polity that existed in the historical region of Khwarazm, Khorezm from 1511 to 1920, except for a period of Afsharid Iran, Afsharid occupat ...
and the raids of the Kalmyk feudal lords. After what Iranian ruler Nader Shah, himself an ethnic Turkmen, defeated Turkmens and
Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...
in 1728, he drove part of the Teke and Imreli tribes out and settled them in Khorasan, specifically in the steppe of Astrabad. In the 1740s, Nader Shah conquered the
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
and Khiva Khanates. Subsequently, most of the Turkmen Yomuds were forced to move from the Khiva Khanate to the coast of the
Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...
and to Astrabad. Until the
Russian conquest of Central Asia In the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia embarked on a campaign to Territorial evolution of Russia, expand the Russian frontier to the east. This effort continued until the 19th century under the Russian Empire, when the Imperial Russian Army ...
, the situation in the areas of residence of Turkmens was turbulent. Under the pretext of jihad, the Khiva Khan repeatedly raided Iranian territory. As an Iranian writer Reza-Qoli Khan wrote, he (the Khiva Khan) "at times led troops against Serakhs and
Merv Merv (, ', ; ), also known as the Merve Oasis, was a major Iranian peoples, Iranian city in Central Asia, on the historical Silk Road, near today's Mary, Turkmenistan. Human settlements on the site of Merv existed from the 3rd millennium& ...
, and sometimes ordered Turkmens to raid the regions of Khorasan". In turn, Iranian troops attacked the
Khwarazm Khwarazm (; ; , ''Xwârazm'' or ''Xârazm'') or Chorasmia () is a large oasis region on the Amu Darya river delta in western Central Asia, bordered on the north by the (former) Aral Sea, on the east by the Kyzylkum Desert, on the south by th ...
, mainly the Turkmen lands, robbing and taking people into captivity. The movement of the Turkmen tribes was also affected by intertribal contradictions, which quite often turned into serious conflicts. In 1855, Teke Turkmens captured the Merv oasis. The Saryks who lived there were expelled to the Yoloten and Panjdeh oases, and they, in turn, drove the Salurs out of Yoloten. The latter were initially located in the area of present-day
Serhetabat Serhetabat (formerly Gushgy) (; , Kushka) is a city in Tagtabazar District, Mary Province, southernTurkmenistan. Serhetabat lies in the valley of the Kushk River. The population was 5,200 in 1991. It is immediately opposite Torghundi, Afghani ...
,
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
, and then migrated to Iran, and finally settled 120 km above Serakhs. Later, Iran exploited the struggle between the Saryks and Tekes to organize a campaign to the Merv oasis in 1861. However, it ended in a crushing defeat for the Iranian troops.


Modern Turkmen tribes in present-day Iran

Nearly one million Turkmens can be found living along the northern edges of Iran, just south of the Turkmenistan-Iran border. For centuries, Turkmens had lived as nomadic herdsmen. In more recent years, however, many of them have changed to a "semi-nomadic lifestyle," living in permanent homes as well as in tents. Today, most of them are farmers and cattle breeders. Turkmens still live in extended families where various generations can be found under the same roof, especially in rural areas. Many tribal customs still survive among the modern Turkmens.


Language

Iranian Turkmens speak primarily Southern Turkmen, a variant of the
Turkmen language Turkmen (, , , or , , , ) is a Turkic language of the Oghuz branch spoken by the Turkmens of Central Asia. It has an estimated 4.7 million native speakers in Turkmenistan (where it is the official language), and a further 359,000 speakers i ...
also spoken in
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
. It is currently written in the
Perso-Arabic The Persian alphabet (), also known as the Perso-Arabic script, is the right-to-left script, right-to-left alphabet used for the Persian language. It is a variation of the Arabic script with four additional letters: (the sounds 'g', 'zh', ' ...
script, though some use the Turkmen
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
script, common in Turkmenistan since its independence in the 1990s. Southern Turkmen is mutually intelligible with the Turkmen variety spoken in
Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...
and
Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...
, though it borrows heavily Persian loanwords. There is also a strong
Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
influence in Southern Turkmen.


Notable Iranian Turkmen

* Dowletmammet Azady, Turkmen poet, scholar and
Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...
* Magtymguly Pyragy, Turkmen spiritual leader, philosophical poet and Sufi * Haj Aghi Alejalil, Iranian philanthropist * Sardar Azmoun, Iranian
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays for
Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...
in the
Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
and Iranian National Team. * Farhad Ghaemi,
volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...
player from Iran, who plays as a Spike for the Men's National Team * Saber Kazemi, volleyball player from Iran, who plays as an opposite spiker for the Men's National Team * Ezzatollah Pourghaz, Iranian
footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...
who plays for Esteghlal Khuzestan in the Persian Gulf Pro League * Omid Kokabee, experimental laser physicist * Ramin Nourqolipour, Iranian Turkmen politician and scientist who represented a part of Iranian Turkmen community in Iranian Parliament for four years between 2016 and 2020


See also

*
Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...
* Turkmen tribes * Turkmen Sahra *
Turkoman horse The Turkoman horse, or Turkmene, is an Oriental horse breed from the steppes of Central Asia. It influenced many modern horse breeds, including the Thoroughbred horse. Modern descendants include the Akhal-Teke, the Iomud, the Goklan and Nokhor ...
* Music of Turkmenistan * Iranian Turks * Afghan Turkmens * Nader Shah *
Afsharid Dynasty The Afsharid dynasty () was an Iran, Iranian dynasty founded by Nader Shah () of the Qirqlu clan of the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar people, Afshar tribe, ruling over the Afsharid Empire. List of Afsharid monarchs Family tree ...
*
Afsharid Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly referred to as Afsharid Iran or the Afsharid Empire, was an Iranian empire established by the Turkoman (ethnonym), Turkoman Afshar tribe in Iran's north-eastern province of Khorasan Province, Khorasan, est ...


References


External links


Encyclopedia Iranian Turkmen

TurkmenSahra
{{Ethnic groups in Iran Ethnic Turkmen people Ethnic groups in Iran Iranian Turkmen people